Any game that ends in a draw usually has both positive and negative takeaways, but coaches tend to focus on only one side of that.
On the positive side for the Houston Dynamo, who drew 2-2 with FC Dallas on Saturday, there was the attitude and fight down the stretch that allowed them to pull a result out of a tough situation. There was also the continued good play of Colin Clark, Brad Davis, and Cam Weaver.
Houston coach Dominic Kinnear made it clear, though, that the Dynamo have work to do, particularly in defending set pieces. After giving up a late set-piece equalizer to New York in Week 10, the Dynamo surrendered again from a dead-ball situation against Dallas.
“We gave [up] a soft goal, a set piece again, which we addressed before and will address again,” Kinnear said. “We go through assignments before the game … and tonight some of those were missed.”
Saturday’s draw leaves the Houston’s home record at 3-3-2. Considering the difficulties in earning results on the road in MLS — only three teams have above-.500 away records in the league — the Dynamo recognize the importance of earning three points at home on a regular basis.
“If you look at it from the point of view that we’re down to 10 men and got the tie, that’s a positive,” said Weaver, who scored his fourth goal of the season. “But three points from home, those games are going to get us in the playoffs, not ties. So we’ve got to look at the mistakes and fix them. We’re close, but we need to start getting three points if we’re going to get to the postseason.”
Davis notches two more
Davis assisted on both Dynamo goals on Saturday, pushing his total
to eight on the season and keeping him one ahead of David Beckham for
the league lead. His first assist came from a nice setup of Weaver –
who is tied with Will Bruin for the team goal-scoring lead – and his
second came on a brilliant feed to Clark for the equalizer.
“I found myself in a good spot, and Brad had time on the ball, and he’s certainly one of the players you want on the ball with a chance late in the game,” said Clark.
Revamped lineup brings mixed reviews
Heading into Saturday's game, Kinnear had said the lineup could see changes
as the Dynamo finished up a stretch of three games in eight days. The
starting lineup on Saturday saw five changes from Wednesday's match, and the newcomers' performances
were met with mixed results.
“Against Los Angeles, we looked a bit tired in some areas, and there are some guys that are good players that deserved to play, so we decided to make those changes,” Kinnear said. “Overall, we could have played better, and the guys we gave opportunities to could have played better.”
Gold Cup departures
Gold Cup call-ups Andre Hainault (Canada) and Je-Vaughn Watson and
Jermaine Taylor (Jamaica) are set to join their national teams this
week. The group stage ends June 14, meaning the June 18 game against
Columbus is the first any of the three could return.
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.
